Smugglerius, ca. 1834

William Pink (1809 - 1857)

RA Collection: Art

Dr William Hunter, first Professor of Anatomy at the Royal Academy Schools, often performed dissections for the students, but as an alternative to this time-consuming and complicated practise he also expanded the teaching collection of anatomical casts. In 1776 he commissioned the sculptor Carlini to cast the corpse of a muscular smuggler fresh from the gallows. In order to invest the gruesome business with a sense of high art, the flayed figure was posed as the Roman statue the 'Dying Gaul' and given the pseudo-classical title 'Smugglerius'.